North Carolina lacks laws mandating time off for employees to vote, making it hard for workers who juggle demanding schedules and civic responsibilities but some businesses are filling the gap to ensure their teams can participate in the election without losing pay.
Jennifer Curtis, co-founder and CEO of Firsthand Foods, is one of them. She shared her company's commitment to paid voting leave is not just practical, it is part of fostering a workplace that values civic engagement.
"Our employees greatly value flexibility and so we have a very generous flex time policy for them to work whatever their needs are around what works with the job," Curtis explained. "For voting, we explicitly give them paid time off to go vote."
Only 28 states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring employers to give employees time off to vote.
Seth Gross, owner of Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, also encourages his employees to vote. Gross believes ensuring every employee has the opportunity to vote supports a healthier democracy and encourages a sense of empowerment among his team.
In the hospitality industry, where many employees work nontraditional hours and may feel disconnected from the political process, Gross sees voting as a crucial way for workers to have a voice.
"We have a lot of folks who maybe feel marginalized or when you're working for tips, it's not exactly the kind of job where people think the highest regards of all the time and these folks may feel like, you know, what I have to say doesn't matter and that's simply not true," Gross asserted. "I want all of our employees to go out and vote. I want the entire hospitality industry to go out and vote."
For Gross, the hospitality industry's role in supporting local communities through everything from disaster response to organizing support for those in need only reinforces the importance of engaged, community-focused leadership. He believes voting can help shape it.